BRANDING BOOYAH FOR A SMALL BIZ
If you ask me, most websites for counseling services and therapists could be interchanged with good, old-fashioned funeral home websites. A little sun glistening through trees? Or an empty bench in a park. Or maybe a rainbow. Lots of botanicals. These sites do nothing to combat the impression that therapy is a soft industry or that it doesn’t really offer much in terms of concrete help, especially to men. So . . . I was thrilled when a Carrboro therapist heard about me through a friend and reached out for help rebranding his business.
This client came to me with an existing site (much as described above) and with the understanding that something needed to be done. In talking with him, it was clear he’d done some research, but still had little direction. He wondered if he needed two websites, one for individuals and one for couples. He wondered if he could brand it in such away that he could sell the business in ten years. He wondered how he could get the word out to his ideal clientele, predominantly middle-aged professional men for individual therapy and also with their partners, for couples therapy. He wondered, even, what he should call his business. Just use his name like most therapists do?
In our first meeting, we settled on my tasks, and in 10 business days he had a new name for his business, a new logo, and a new website, for which I wrote all of the content and design. His business name is fitting for the industry, but also a secret nod to his hobby. The logo is interesting, communicates confidence, and is easy to read. And, now he has a brand kit to help him stay consistent. The end result is a website that will more likely reach the folks he’s hoping to serve, and I also provided SEO and outreach strategies to help ensure site visitors. I also set him up on Google Workspace to streamline his communications and provide a branded email domain.
The site is simple, but every detail is made to speak to the exact audience he’s trying to reach. Gone are the sad nature pictures that remind people of their loneliness. Gone are the office pictures that, taken at the wrong angle, made the office setting look stale, with a perspective that diminished the viewer (nobody puts baby in the corner!). And, I even offered advice about his own picture, previously an all beige number that captured his countenance in a way that made him look stiff and uncomfortable—not an ideal look for a talk therapist. And, I wrote content that welcomes his ideal clients and uses design elements that signal masculinity, without being overwhelming, so as not to alienate female partners.
When he hired me, my client told me that he really had thought he could do all of this rebranding on his own, but when I finished my work he told me that there was no way he could have done what I did. He’s in love with the branding, content, and the site design customization. His business is now elevated, and I’m confident, having focus-grouped the site, that his practice will have a waiting list in no time.
Get in touch if you have a small business that needs some branding booyah. I’d love to help!
